By Martha Kerr

Last Updated: 2008-07-10 11:10:43 -0400 (Reuters Health), Jul. 10, 2008 (Reuters Health delivered by Newstex) --

New imaging technique may spot Alzheimer's earlier

By Martha Kerr

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - An automated system for measuring brain tissue with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can help doctors more accurately diagnose Alzheimer's disease at an earlier stage, according to a new study.

In Alzheimer's disease, nerve cell death and tissue loss cause all areas of the brain, especially the hippocampus region, to shrink. "Visually evaluating the atrophy (tissue loss) of the hippocampus is not only difficult and prone to subjectivity, it is time-consuming," Dr. Olivier Colliot, of the Hopital de la Salpetriere in Paris, explained in a written statement. "As a result, it hasn't become part of clinical routine."

Colliot and colleagues used an automated process with computer software developed in their laboratory by Dr. Marie Chupin to measure the volume of the hippocampus in 25 patients with Alzheimer's disease, 24 with mild cognitive impairment and 25 healthy older adults. The MRI volume measurements were then compared with those reported in studies of similar patient groups using the visual, or manual, method.

The automated process performed as well as the manual process, and "it is much faster," Colliot said. "It can be performed within a few minutes versus an hour."

Specifically, the researchers found a significant decline in the volume of the hippocampus in both the Alzheimer's and cognitively impaired patients when compared to the healthy adults. Alzheimer's patients and those with mild cognitive impairment had an average volume loss in this key brain region of 32 percent and 19 percent, respectively. Studies using manual methods have reported similar results.

The Alzheimer's Association estimates that more than five million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. A goal of modern neuroimaging is to accurately diagnose the disease early, at a point when drug treatment can help improve or stabilize memory loss and related symptoms.

Combined with other tests, the new automated MRI technique "can contribute to a more accurate diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease," Colliot said.

SOURCE: Radiology, July 2008.

Newstex ID: REUH-0001-26575757